The Ts of Persian names

Male names:

Taghi is the Persian form of the Arabic name Taqi, which means “pious, devout.”

Taher is the Persian form of the Arabic name Tahir, which means “chaste, virtuous, pure.”

Tahmasp means “brave horse.” The modern form is Tahmasb.

Taymaz/Taimaz may be a modern form of Tahmasp or a contracted form of the Ossetian name Taymuraz (Old Persian form Tahmuras), which ultimately derives from the Avestan name Taxma Urupi (strong fox). This name is also Chechen, Dagestani, Kazakh, and Uzbek.

Female names:

Tabassom is the Persian form of the Arabic name Tabassum, which means “smiling.” This name is unisex in Arabic.

Tahereh/Tahere is the feminine form of the Arabic name Tahir, which means “chaste, virtuous, pure.”

Tahmineh is the modern form of Tahmina, which means “brave, valiant.” This is the name of hero Rostam’s wife in Iran’s great national epic The Shahnameh.

Tala means “gold.”

Taraneh means “song.”

Tarannom means “melody.”

Tayebeh is a feminine form of the Arabic name Tayyib, which means “good-natured, pleasant.”

Tokhmesarv means “tall like a cypress.”

Touba/Tooba derives from the Arabic word tuba (better, best, more pleasant).

Touska/Tooska means “alder.”

Toutiya/Tootiya/Tutia means “zinc oxide.” This is also the Persian name for a genus of sea urchins.

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All about Arthurian names, Part VII (Female names, N–Y)

Illustration from King Arthur’s Knights: The Tales Retold for Boys and Girls (1911), by Walter Crane

Nimue is a sorceress known as the Lady of the Lake. In some stories, Merlin falls in love with her and becomes trapped by her magic. Nimue is also Lancelot’s protector and foster mother, and she gives the sword Excalibur to King Arthur and, many years later, helps to take him to Avalon when he’s dying.

Ninniane is the Old French form of Nimue. It may be derived from the Old Celtic male name Ninian, which in turn might ultimately come from the Brythonic name *Ninniau. Other forms include Ninniene, Niniane, Nyneve, Nymenche, Nimiane, Ninieve, Nivene, Niviène, Nivienne, Niviana, Niniame, Nymanne, Nimanne, Nynyane, Nenyve, Nyneue, Niniave, and Nynyue.

Merlin and Nimue (1861), by Edward Burne-Jones

Olwen means “white footprint” in Welsh, from roots ol (track, footprint) and gwen (white, blessed, fair). She’s one of the title characters of the Welsh epic Culhwch and Olwen. When Culhwch refuses to marry his stepsister, his stepmother curses him with the inability to marry anyone but Olwen. Though he’s never seen her, he falls in love with her. His father tells him he can only find Olwen with the help of his cousin King Arthur, who obligingly helps with the difficult search.

Orgeluse derives from the French word orgueilleuse (haughty). This is a character in Wolfram von Eschenbach’s 13th century romance Parzival. The name is spelt Orguelleuse in Chrétien de Troyes’s unfinished romance Perceval, the Story of the Grail.

Illustration of Culhwch and Olwen at the court of Olwen’s father Ysbaddaden, Celtic Myth & Legend (1905?), by Ernest Wallcousins

Palatyne, or Palentina, is one of the triplet sisters of water spirit Melusine. Their other sister is Melior. When their mortal father Elynas, King of Scotland, breaks his promise to not go into the bedchamber of his wife Pressyne while she’s giving birth, Pressyne leaves Scotland and raises her triplets in Avalon.

Qrainglaie is an Irish queen in Chretien de Troyes’s Les Merveilles de Rigomer.

Quebeleplus appears in Heinrich von dem Türlin’s Middle High German epic poem Diu Crône, which dates from about the 1220s.

Rathlean appears in the Irish romance Céilidhe Iosgaide Léithe (The Visit of Iosgaid Liath or Visit of the Grey-Hammed Lady). She’s the mother of Ailleann, who marries King Arthur when she takes him and the Knights of the Round Table to the Otherworld, and a granddaughter of the King of Iceland.

The Cumaean Sibyl (ca. 1617), by Domenichino

Sebile derives from the Greek word sibylla (sibyl). In Greco–Roman mythology, the sibyls (ten in number) are prophets and oracles. Sebile is a queen or princess who’s also a fairy or enchantress. She’s based on the Cumaean Sibyl, who presided over the oracle at Cumae, a Greek colony near modern-day Naples. According to legend, she lived a thousand years.

Soredamor is the lover of Alexander, a Knight of the Round Table, in Chrétien de Troyes’s epic poem Cligès (written about 1176). The Italian form is Sordamor.

Teleri is a contraction of the Welsh word ty (familiar “your”) and the name Eleri, which in turn derives from the name of a Welsh river. This river is also called the Leri. Teleri is a maidservant at King Arthur’s court in Culhwch and Olwen.

Sir Tristram and la Belle Ysoude drinking the love potion (1862–63), designed by Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Xenebra is the Galician form of Guinevere.

Ydain is the name of two characters. One is a maidservant at King Arthur’s court and a cousin of Gawain, who marries Sir Cador of Cornwall. The other is rescued from Sir Licoridon by Gawain and mutually falls in love with Gawain, then decides to dump him for another knight. In revenge, Gawain gives her to the dwarf Druidan.

Ygrayne is a form of Igraine (King Arthur’s mother) used in Sir Thomas Malory’s 15th century epic Le Morte d’Arthur.

Yseut is an Old French form of Iseult used in 12th century Norman–French poet Béroul’s Tristan. Another Old French form, Ysolt, is used by Thomas of Britain in a 12th century poem also called Tristan.

All about Arthurian names, Part IV (Male names, S–Y)

King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table (1470), by Evrard d’Espinques

Safir probably comes from the Hebrew word sapir (sapphire). He’s a Saracen Knight of the Round Table, and the brother of Palamedes.

Sagramore comes from the Old French word sicamor (sycamore). He appears in almost every Arthurian story, always as a very good knight, even when he loses jousts.

Segwarides is the brother of Safir and Palamedes, and son of King Esclabor the Unknown. In some stories, Tristan sleeps with his wife.

Titurel is the Grail King in Wolfram von Eschenbach’s epic Parzival. He’s also the eponymous hero of another von Eschenbach work, a prequel to Parzival which only survives in fragments.

Tor is the son of King Pellinore, and later becomes one of the first Knights of the Round Table.

Torec is the eponymous hero of one of three Arthurian works by 13th century Flemish poet Jacob van Maerlant. Sir Torec defeats all of the Knights of the Round Table except King Arthur for the love of a maiden.

Tristan and Isolde (1912), by John Duncan

Tristan probably derives from the Celtic name Drustan, a nickname for the Pictish name Drust, which in turn may come from the Old Celtic root *trusto- (tumult, noise). It first appeared as Tristan in 12th century French stories, with the spelling probably changed to associate it with the Old French word triste (sad).

Tristan is sent to Ireland by his uncle, King Mark of Cornwall, to bring back Mark’s betrothed Iseult. En route to Ireland, Tristan and Iseult accidentally drink a potion that makes them fall in love. This sets many tragic events in motion. Tristan also appears as a Knight of the Round Table and a good friend of Lancelot.

Other forms of the name are Tristão (Portuguese), Tristram (Middle English), Trystan (Welsh), Tristán (Spanish), Tristrant (Middle German), Tístram (Faroese), Tístran (Icelandic), Trestan (Breton), Tristà (Catalan; rare), Tristam (Old English), Tristano (Italian), Tristaun (Norman), Trisztán (Hungarian), and Drystan (Welsh).

Eric Pape’s 1907 illustration for Lyrics and Old World Idylls, depicting King Urien being slain by his wife Morgan le Fay

Ulfin means “little wolf,” from the Ancient Germanic root wolf plus a diminutive suffix. Sir Ulfin helps Merlin with the plot to have King Arthur conceived.

Urien comes from the Old Welsh name Urbgen, which possibly derives from Celtic root *orbo- (heir) and the suffix gen (born of). He’s the King of Gore, husband of Morgan le Fay, and father of Owain. Like Owain, Urien is another Arthurian character whom we know was a real historical person.

Uther comes from the Old Welsh name Uthyr and the root uthr (terrible). He’s King Arthur’s father.

Walganus is a variant Latin form of Gualguainus, which Gawain is sometimes referred to as.

Wigalois is the eponymous hero of Wirnt von Grafenberg’s very early 13th century epic about Gawain’s son.

Yder, or Ydier, is the Old French and Anglo–Norman form of Edern, which derives from Old Welsh root edyrn (heavy, immense; wonderful, prodigious, marvellous). Previously, it was wrongly believed to come from the Latin word aeternus (eternal). Edern is a Knight of the Round Table.

Yvain, or Ywain, is a form of Owain, which comes from an Old Welsh name variously spelt Ougein and Eugein, and thus may ultimately derive from the Greek name Eugenios (well-born). It may also have the Celtic roots *owi- (sheep), *awi- (desire), or *wesu- (good), plus the Old Welsh suffix gen (born of). Owain is a Knight of the Round Table, and usually written as the son of King Urien and the philandering husband of Laudine, the Lady of the Fountain. He’s one of the Arthurian characters who actually existed.

The Ts of Ukrainian names

Male names:

Taras is the Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Russian form of the Greek name Tarasios, which possibly means “from Taras.” Taras Shevchenko is Ukraine’s great national writer, who was also a prolific artist.

Tereshko is a folk or diminutive form of Terentiy, which comes from the Roman family name Terentius (of unknown meaning).

Trokhym comes from the Greek name Trophimos (nourishing).

Tyberiy is the Ukrainian form of the Roman praenomen Tiberius (of the Tiber River).

Tykhon comes from the Greek name Tychon and the word tyche (fortune, luck, chance).

Tymish is a folk or diminutive form of Tymofiy (see below).

Tymofiy is the Ukrainian form of Timothy, which comes from the Greek name Timotheos (honouring God).

Female names:

Tamusya is a rare diminutive of Tamara, which comes from the Hebrew name Tamar (date palm).

Tavifa is the Ukrainian form of Tabitha, which means “gazelle” in Aramaic.

Tayisiya is the Ukrainian form of the Greek name Thaïs, which possibly means “bandage” in Greek.

Tetyana is the Ukrainian form of Tatyana, which derives from the Roman family name Tatius. It may be of Sabine origin.

Tisba is the Ukrainian form of the Greek name Thisbe, which derives from the name of an Ancient Greek town in Boeotia. In turn, the town was supposedly named for a nymph.

All about Theodore

It’s been four months since I last posted, despite my plans to post more often on my secondary blog this year. Since March, my main blogging focus has been on my Dantean posts on my primary blog (which I’ve also been converting into vlogs), so this one fell by the wayside. Let’s get back into the swing of things with a post about my third-fave male name! I had a 2016 post spotlighting my fave forms of Theodore, but haven’t had a full post devoted to every form of the name.

Theodore is an English name which derives from Greek Theodoros (gift of God). The female name Dorothea comes from the same roots, only in reverse. Theodoros was a popular name in Classical Greece, and it remained popular after the advent of Christianity, due to several saints with the name. However, this name wasn’t very popular in the Anglophone world till the 19th century.

Theodore was on the U.S. Top 100 from 1880–1944 and 1950–51. Its lowest rank to date has been #314 in 1999. In 2015, it re-entered the Top 100 at #99 and began rising rapidly. In 2020, it was #23.

The name is also popular in England and Wales (#14), Canada (#15), New Zealand (#15), Québec (#38), Scotland (#50), Northern Ireland (#57), and Ireland (#66). The spelling Theodor is #18 in Norway, #26 in Denmark, #41 in Sweden, and #42 in Austria.

Swiss physician Théodore Tronchin, 1709–1781

Other forms of the name include:

1. Theodor is German, Scandinavian, Romanian, and Czech.

2. Theodoor is Dutch.

3. Teodor is Czech, Bulgarian, Romanian, Polish, Serbian, Scandinavian, Slovenian, Macedonian, Slovak, Catalan, Albanian, and Croatian. The alternate form Teodòr is Provençal and Languedocian.

4. Todor is Bulgarian, Serbian, and Macedonian. The alternate form Tódor is Hungarian.

5. Tudor is Romanian.

6. Théodore is French.

7. Teodoro is Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.

8. Tedore is Georgian.

9. Teodors is Latvian.

10. Toros is Armenian.

Polish pianist, composer, and teacher Teodor Leszetycki, 1830–1915

11. Tivadar is Hungarian.

12. Thei is Limburgish.

13. Teuvo is Finnish.

14. Tewodros is Amharic.

15. Tédór is Kashubian.

16. Teodoru is Sicilian and Corsican.

17. Tiadoru is Sardinian.

18. Tiudoru is Corsican.

19. Teodoro is Asturian.

20. Tiutôk is Greenlandic.

Filipino businessman and philanthropist Teodoro R. Yangco, 1861–1939

21. Todrus is Yiddish.

22. Téodóir is Irish.

23. Teador is Belarusian.

24. Suoder is Yakut.

25. Fyodor is Russian. This is one of the few names I like where an F appears in place of a TH, probably because it’s the first letter of the name instead of in the middle.

26. Fedir is Ukrainian.

27. Kvedor is Mordvin.

28. Joder is Swiss–German.

29. Fyodar is Belarusian.

30. Khvedar is also Belarusian.

Romanian revolutionary hero Tudor Vladimirescu, ca. 1780–1821

31. Teodoras is Lithuanian.

32. Tevazirus is Turkish.

33. Tewdwr is Welsh.

34. Tewodros is Arabic and Coptic.

35. Tedros is Eritrean and Ethiopian.

36. Tuudor, or Tuudur, is Estonian.

Princess Theodora of Greece and Denmark, 1906–1969

Female forms:

1. Theodora is Greek, German, Dutch, Scandinavian, and English. The alternate forms Théodóra and Theodóra are Icelandic, and Théodora is French.

2. Teodora is Scandinavian, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Serbian, Macedonian, Polish, Bulgarian, and Romanian. The alternate form Teodóra is Hungarian.

3. Théodorine is an elaborated, modern French–African form.

4. Fyodora is Russian.

5. Feodora is an alternate Russian form.

6. Fešu is Veps, a Finnic language spoken in Russia.

7. Söduöre is Yakut.

8. Todora is Serbian.

9. Tiadora is Sardinian.